Lanka prepares for UPR 2017

The government says it will make all preparations to ensure there is further progress on the human rights front ahead of the next Universal Periodic Review of Sri Lanka at the UN in Geneva in 2017.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa;s human rights envoy, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said this after meeting the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today.

US disappointed that GoSL rejected the call to implement the LLRC recommendations

Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe

U.S. Statement at the Adoption of the UPR Report on Sri Lanka
March 15, 2013
The United States welcomes the return of the delegation of Sri Lanka to the Council and appreciates the opportunity to comment on their response to the UPR review.

Sri Lanka: India hopes investigations of HR violations and loss of civilian life will be independent and credible

Government of India told UNHRC that it hopes early progress towards reconciliation, reduction of high security zones, return of private land by the military and phasing out of the security forces in civilian activities in the Northern province, will be done in effective and timely manner. India also hopes that investigation of  allegations of Human rights violations and loos of civilian life will be independent and credible.

The National Plan Action includes merely a fraction of the 285 recommendations made by LLRC - Forum Asia

Pooja Patel: appalled at the Sri Lankan delegation’s claim that the military offers “no intrusive presence impacting on civilian life” in the north

Friday, 15 March 2013
Thank you, Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA makes this statement in association with its member organisations in Sri Lanka, Law and Society Trust (LST) and INFORM-Human Rights Documentation Centre.  We express our disappointment with the manner in which the Sri Lankan delegation engaged with the UPR Working Group and regret the absurd move made by several States to edit their recommendations so that the outcome document focuses only on the National Plan of Action, not the entire recommendations from the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

Sri Lanka has rejected recommendation to ratify ILO Convention 189 while the country enjoys the remittance from migrant workers as high as 6 billion USD for 2012

Nimalka Fernanda: We are talking about men, women and children whose lives are at risk or in danger.

Thank you Mr. President,
 This is a joint statement made by IMADR, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada and Pasumathai India. We appreciate the new mechanism of UPR. Nevertheless the negotiation process has given rise to reducing the impact of the transparency and effectiveness in built to UPR.

Today, 7 long years have passed since my son’s murder, without any justice or decision from the Sri Lankan courts! - Dr. Manoharan @UNHRC

Dr. Manoharan at UNHRC; Where is justice for my son

Mr President
My name is Dr. Kasippillai Manoharan. On 2 January 2006, Sri Lankan soldiers brutally murdered my beloved son Ragihar on a beach in Trincomalee. My family and I were forced to flee Sri Lanka because we sought justice for his killing.

Universal Periodic Review: Views on conclusions and/or recommendations, voluntary commitments and replies presented by the GoSL

On 15th March 2013 UN human rights council will discuss and approve the Universal Periodic Review Sri Lanka  report 2012. The UPR session on Sri Lanka was held on November 2012. What follows is the report presented by Sri Lanka in March 2013 explaining the reasons for not accepting some recommendations and its voluntary commitments.

Sri Lanka: UPR 2012 fails to advance human rights agenda

B. Skanthakumar
The Sri Lankan government rejected almost half of the recommendations received in Geneva from other UN member states during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of its human rights obligations on 1 November 2012.

Among the recommendations not acceptable to the government are[1]: right to information legislation; country visit by the UN independent expert on freedom of opinion and expression; witness and victim protection legislation; removing humanitarian and NGO affairs from the Defence Ministry; publishing the names and places of detention of detainees; reducing the military role in civilian affairs in the North; punishing those responsible for recruitment of child soldiers; protecting labour and other human rights of domestic workers; abolishing the death penalty; decriminalising same-sex relationships; criminalising and punishing enforced disappearances; regular visits by members of the UN Committee Against Torture to detention centres; accepting jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court with respect to crimes against humanity; and an independent investigation into the August 2006 killing of 17 humanitarian workers in Mutur.

Without proper reason the Ministry for Human Rights was abolished: the pledges made at UPR 2008 fell by way side - Rajiva Wijesinha

Minister Samarasinhghe - no HR ministry

The Universal Periodic Review has come, and gone, and as usual there seems to be general satisfaction in Sri Lanka as to how it went. I have no doubt that the generally excellent team sent from Sri Lanka performed well, and gave sensible answers to the questions raised.

What is sad, though, is that the Review seems to have become an end in itself. Some of the blame for this should go to a few organizations who see this as a chance to attack Sri Lanka, whereas the original conception of the UPR was that it would provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to work together to improve the Human Rights situation in the country under review.

UPR Sri Lanka 2012: The end note and change text drama

There were prolonged procedural discussions around the report before it was adopted. The delegation of Sri Lankan had introduced endnotes, found on the last two pages of the report, that were hitherto unprecedented. In the end it was decided that the endnotes would be removed from the report, but would be included in an addendum to the WG report. The delegation of Sri Lanka said that it would provide additional explanations of the positions that it took on particular recommendations in the addendum. It also said that it would make an unspecified number of voluntary commitments, which is also unusual as voluntary commitments have hitherto been made before the WG examination, not after. The SL delegation said that the voluntary commitments would be made within the next two weeks.

Rights groups want inquiry into Sri Lanka wartime crimes

Dr. Manoharan showing the 6 years of impunity at Palace Des Nations , Geneva

* Activists denounce impunity for crimes in long civil war
* Seek justice for murders of 17 aid workers, 5 students
* Sri Lanka rejects calls for accountability at U.N.

GENEVA, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Leading human rights groups called on Monday for an independent international inquiry to investigate massacres of civilians and aid workers during Sri Lanka's three-decade civil war after accusing the government of having failed to do so.

UPR Sri Lanka: India does a summersault – is there deal?

Geneva- In a bizarre move India has agreed to drop major part of recommendations it made to Sri Lanka at the 14th session of UPR held on 1st Nov 2012. The recommendations made by India on implementation of 13th amendment of  the constitution, Demilitarisation of Northern Province, Elections to the Northern Provincial Council and land issues in Northern Province have been deleted in the working group report with the concurrence of the India.

UPR Sri Lanka 2012: The 100 recommendations Sri Lanka rejected

Human Rights Council
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
Fourteenth session
During the interactive dialogue held on 1st Nov 2012 , 98 delegations made statements including  Recommendations 

129.    The recommendations below did not enjoy the support of Sri Lanka:

UPR Sri Lanka 2012: Recommendations Sri Lanka accepted

The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its fourteenth session from 22 October to 5 November 2012. The review of Sri Lanka was held at the 16^th meeting on 1 November 2012. The delegation of Sri Lanka was headed by Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries and Special Envoy of the President for Human Rights. At its 18th meeting held on 5 November 2012, the Working Group adopted the report on Sri Lanka
128.    The recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue/listed below enjoy the support of Sri Lanka

UPR Sri Lanka 2012: Points made by the other countires

Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review

21.    During the interactive dialogue, 98 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report.

UPR Sri Lanka: A summary media report by OHCHR

Thursday, 1 November 2012 (afternoon)

State under review	Sri Lanka Represented by a 15-member delegation headed by Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries, and Special envoy of the President on Human Rights
Documents	To access national report, compilation of UN information, and summary of stakeholders’ information, visit the Sri Lanka page of the UPR website
Troika *	Benin, India, Spain
Opening statement by State under review	Few points raised in the  opening statement of State under review: (See full statement on the Sri Lanka page of the extranet)

Sri Lanka pressed at U.N. to prosecute wartime crimes

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Western countries kept up pressure on Sri Lanka on Thursday to prosecute killings of civilians and other crimes committed in its 30-year civil war and to investigate continuing grave violations. Britain and the United States said that accountability must be established for serious breaches in the conflict that ended in 2009 and they voiced concern at the latest attacks on journalists, activists and lawyers.

Sri Lanka was in the dock at the United Nations Human Rights Council, a Geneva-based forum that regularly examines the records of all U.N. member states and issues recommendations.

Sri Lanka’s empty promises and denial of rights crisis exposed at UN

Sri Lanka’s promises on human rights should no longer be accepted by the international community.
© Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images

Sri Lanka’s promises on human rights should no longer be accepted by the international community, Amnesty International said as the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 1 November highlighted Colombo’s continued denial of the human rights crisis in the country and the need for independent investigations into new alleged human rights violations and past war crimes.

We are the best- Sri Lanka tells UN

by Minister Samarasinghe

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sri Lanka took place this afternoon at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, amidst Member States and Observers of the Human Rights Council. The country’s opening Statement was delivered to the Council by Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries, Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights and Leader of the Sri Lanka Delegation.

 It is my privilege and pleasure to share with the 14th Session of the UPR Working Group information and perspectives on the action taken to promote and protect human rights in Sri Lanka in the period since our first review in 2008. It has been our consistently articulated position that, in the particular circumstances and context of the Sri Lankan situation, the UPR process provides the best opportunity to raise questions and seek clarifications about the evolving situation in the country.

US recommendations for SL at UPR

The United States while noting steps taken by the government of Sri Lanka to resettle IDPs, foster economic growth, and develop a National Action Plan for implementing a number of recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) called for the strengthening of judicial independence by ending government interference with the judicial process, protecting members of the judiciary from attacks, and restoring a fair, independent, and transparent mechanism to oversee judicial appointments.